BMW iX, First Green Powered BMW in India
Nowadays we are seeing lots of EV’s on our roads and in our cities, because of the high fuel costs and low fuel efficiency, lots of new car buyers are moving towards Electric and why not be? Like we always say, Electric is our future and we have to accept it. So in the luxury EV’s, Mercedes Benz takes it EQC in 2020 and like that Audi and Jaguar takes it e-tron and i-pace in the market, but sometimes this segment misses its rival BMW in India. However now the new EV entered in the chat and that’s the new BMW iX, this is the first fully electric vehicle launched by BMW in India.
In 2020 BMW take this in the concept and now this EV landed in India, now this iX is only available in one variant which is the xdrive 40. The BMW iX is made on Cluster Architecture (CLAR), well lots of BMW cars are made on this platform. This green powered BMW gets two electric motors ( one for each axle ) that produce 321.5bhp/630Nm with a single-speed transmission sending power to the rear wheels. The xDrive is primarily an RWD system with the front getting power only in low grip situations. You get a 76.6kwh battery pack that has a WLTP range of 425km and the capability to take advantage of a charging system of up to 150 kW.
All buyers will get an 11kW wall box /3-phase charger and an emergency 2.3kW/single charger as a part of the deal when buying the car. All of BMW’s dealerships across the country have been fitted with fast charging capability as well as the capability to service the iX offering the chance of pan India ownership right from the beginning.
Starting from the front we get a large two kidney grill with very slicker headlamp unit, on that kidneys we get lots of sensors and radars thanks to ADAS which this iX gets. The headlight unit is very slimmer and gets BMW laser lights which can project the light upto 650 metres. The bumper of the vehicle is very aggressive which gets lots of air vents, well the drag of coefficient is just 0.25 CV. The hood of the vehicle don’t openable, to fill up the washing fluid we have to tap on the BMW logo which is placed on the hood, that logo opens and that washer fluid will goes inside in it. The vehicle runs on 21 inch alloys with all wheel disc brakes with blue coloured brake calliper, the door handles of the vehicle is concealed under the door and improves the aero efficiency of the vehicle.
The orvm is very huge in terms of dimensions, it comes with camera on it. It’s big window comes with rose gold finishing around it which is also around its door handles, like it’s big length we also got massive roof. This iX gets biggest sunroof/glass roof in all BMW’s lineup and also in its segment, sometimes the tail of the vehicle will remind you the MG Hector, thanks to that slimmer taillights and boxy shape. Reverse parking camera is nicely integrated in that BMW logo which is a nice touch, it’s windscreen gets wiper washer with defogger.
To get aggressive looks BMW has given fake exhaust on the bumper, under its tailgate we get 530 litres of boot space which is similar to the X3 and Q5, we can easily increase the boot space by reclining the second row seats with touch of our finger. In its ample boot we get safety lights, parcel shelf and reading lights as well. The design of the vehicle is not attractive but it will grow with you as time goes, well lots of cuts and crises, massive wheels gives its rigid and muscular looks.
Coming to inside of the vehicle we have completely new design for dashboard and in the interior as well, first of all we have huge neatly done leather finished dashboard which also gets lots of cuts and crises. The biggest attention to detail is that curved single panel display which gets a 14.9 inch infotainment system and 12.3 inch digital instrument cluster, that infotainment system is again all new system which gets voice commands, radio, media, navigation, cameras, driving modes, gesture controls, battery information, charging stations locater, air conditioning controls, vehicle data and more.
Well this infotainment system also gets 5G connectivity which in India the BMW iX is the first car to get it. Coming to that fat instrument cluster we get navigation, themes, TPMS, vehicle settings, battery information and much more. But comparing this new system with older one this new one is much much better and BMW also says that this new system have 20times better resolution and computing power than the previous one. So under this screen we get two AC vents and a hazard light switch, well 50% buttons are now gone and all that controls are now shifted to that two screens.
Because this is a EV, transmission tunnel is gone now and we don’t get connected centre console so if we want we can also travel through the cabin. All that vehicle controls like gear selector, parking brake, I drive controller are now moved towards the front centre armrest and we can easily control it. That I-Drive controller now gets crystal effects with wooden panel below it, which looks super premium and feels very great to touch.
Coming to the steering wheel, we get a hexagonal steering wheel with mounted controls on it which operates that digital instrument cluster. Front seats are very comfortable to seat and because of the connecting link in the centre, legroom is not an issue with front seats. Like that in second row we get three full fat seats with headrest and centre armrest as well, headroom and legroom is not an issue, three people can seat comfortably for long routes also. Because of the big length and massive width of the vehicle we get very good space in the cabine and feels very airy and roomy,
thanks to that huge and massive panoramic glass roof which is biggest in the segment. We don’t get sun blind for it, it can blind by electromagnetic radiation. So it can easily blind and unblind by just the touch of our finger, like that it gets lots of features in it like 30 speakers Bowers and Wilkins Diamond surround sound system, panoramic glass roof,
ventilated front seats, electrically adjustable front seats with memory function, automatic headlamps, rain sensing wipers, soft close door function, frameless doors, electronic tailgate, wireless charging pad and more.
Now this BMW iX is offered in four coloured options.
1) Black Sapphire Metallic
2) Sophisto Grey Brilliant Effect Metallic
3) Mineral White Metallic
4) Phytonic Blue Metallic
Price of this 2022 BMW IX starts from 1.15 Cr (Ex-showroom-Delhi), at this heavy price point it will directly rival with Audi e-tron, Mercedes Benz EQC, Jaguar I-Pace, Mercedes Benz GLS, BMW X6, Land Rover Discovery, Audi Q8, Land Rover Defender. Delivery of BMW iX begins from second week of January 2022 it’s first batch is already sold out and gives some positive growth in its segment. So as we seen it, this new green powered BMW iX have 4 series inspired grill, X5 similar length, X7 like interior space and boot space like X3. So this BMW iX a full blown packaged of all the BMW cars and comes with the green coloured number plate.
Overall Ratings from Team Ignition
